"A guilty man set free on the account of another, is that justice? No that’s grace" Caleb & Sol

02 September 2013

TERRIFYING TIMES

2
Tim 3:1-17

I grew up in
a time when hair bands of the 80 and 90’s ruled the main stage of my life! None of this Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga or
Katy Perry corporate bubble gum, no talent corporate sell outs! I grew in a generation of talented musicians who could rock like there was no tomorrow! Bands like: Kiss, Motley Crue, Whitesnake,
Ozzy, and Scorpion’s. Canadian bands like: Helix, Kick Axe, Coney Hatch and
Brighton Rock. These were bands that I desperately wanted to be like [sad isn't it?] But I think
one of the biggest bands that exploded on music scene during my time was a band
called AC/DC. But it didn't take long for tragedy to strike this popular rock band! At the young age of only 33, AC/DC's
lead singer Bon Scott, “drank himself to death,” according to the official
coroner's report...Bon Scott
recorded six studio albums with the rock band AC/DC, beginning with 1974's
"High Voltage." It was shortly after the release of the somewhat
foreshadowing sixth album, 1979's "Highway to Hell," that Scott died
(February 19, 1980). In keeping with his rowdy persona, "Highway to
Hell" sold over a million copies during its initial run (it has sold seven
million to date) and climbed to place at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 Album
Chart. Bon Scott
epitomized the role of a God-hating rebel who abused drugs and indulged in
sinful living. Scott was
found dead in his car after an indulgent binge left his body lifeless and his
soul at the reality of the “Highway to Hell” which Bon Scott recorded just
months prior to his tragic death. Bon Scott,
who wore a Satanic pentagram around his neck, sang in his infamous song
entitled Highway to Hell...“Hey Satan,
paid my dues, playing in a rockin' band, I'm on a highway to hell.” Our generation
and the next generation are still buying into this lie, which comes from the
pit of Hell. In light of
this past week things are becoming more clear me!

How much worse can it possibly get? The bible
says……“Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on
the Day of Judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.” Matt
10:15. Jesus, even went on to repeat this in the following chapter of Matthew. Our society
is falling apart and the people [even the church] are falling for this world as I did before Christ came and made me His own. Our culture
is still being adapted by what we see, hear and touch, and they're embracing this
fallen world as many did then, just as many are doing now. Jesus said“But as the
days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood
they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day
that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took
them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be”. Matt 24:37-39. So my question for us is this………Are we ready for perilous times? Are we ready
to fight back to protect our marriages, our children, our families, our sexual
purity from a culture that says there is no absolutes, all sexual types
orientation is good, there is no God, the world just evolved, let the
professionals teach and train your children, majority knows best, do what makes
you happy, climb the corporate ladder, don’t think for yourself, live for self
and forget about anybody else. A culture trying to tell us to stay busy,
prepare for that freedom 55, and so on! Sadly, our culture is getting more perverse by
the minute! Again with
this past week in the news and entertainment with Miley Cyrus’s provocative
depravity dance! What grieves me most is, this young lady has millions of young girls who look up to her
as a role model. Can I tell you young ladies something? She is no role model
for you! She is only another Bon Scott of this generation who desperately needs
Christ; just as I did when I was your age.She is on a road
that only has one off ramp that can save her from those famous words sung by AC/DC! The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So again the question is again!Are we ready for
perilous times? Increasingly, we are
hearing people talk about “The Last Days” or “The End of the World,” and for
good reason, because the wickedness is so horrible nowadays. The news
media is filled with so many horrible stories and hatred, and the media has no
hesitation about destroying someone's life with their manure spreading as they did with Miley this past week. But can I tell you we are no different that Miley? We're all sinners and depraved! Our society has become ruthless, craving the
bloodiest and most horrid stories in the news... give us more, more, and more!

Sexual
immorality is increasing by the minute around the globe.

Decency and
morality is being thrown out the window as garbage and old fashion.

Young people
are giving up their purity so that they can fit into the mold of this
generation to find acceptance and love.

Having more
than 2 children you are considered selfish and overcrowding in an “already
crowded world.”

Marriage is
no longer an institution between two believers under God’s covenant of
marriage.

Demonic
activity is hitting the big screen and taking over the movie box office and the
television.

Homosexuality
and trans-gender is considered a normal sexual lifestyle.

A mother
killing and drowning her 4 children in a pool is considered murder, but killing
a child in the womb is considered “choice”.

Helping
someone end their life is considered human, but beat or torture an animal is
considered barbaric and cruel.

The bible is
considered hate speech and intolerant, but to be-head someone in the name of
“Allah” is considered ok.

Please hear my heart this morning! I don’t mean
to wreck your Sunday morning worship, but we really need to open our eyes to
what is going on around the world......Might I remind you that Paul
wrote this to Timothy some 2000 years ago. On a lighter side, Ray Pritchard has a humorous intro to a not to so
funny chapter...You’ve
probably heard the old joke about the fellow who was told, “Cheer up. Things
could be worse.” So he said, “I did as I was told. I cheered up, and sure
enough, things got worse.” That in a nutshell is the message of II Timothy

Paul said perilous times were coming for the
church. This fallen
world is falling into a deep depravity, but the church was going to face this
sort of thing as well. “Perilous times” means times
of great difficulty, grievous,
stressful, hazardous or unsafe. It’s like
those of public plagues, when death lies at every door, this word is also referring to fierce,
violent dangerous, savage times. John MacArthur calls it "demonic times" a time where the church is going to be tested. Paul told Timothy before he was about to be be-headed that doctrine
would become compromised by the leaders. Doctrine
would be distorted by wolves in sheep’s clothing. The church
would be faced with greater trials then their predecessors of old. Isn’t this true! Doctrine has
been compromised in the church because we don’t want to offend someone or make
them feel uncomfortable. Doctrine has
been distorted by many false teachers and many are greatly confused to what
truth is and what isn't. This church
age is much worse than the early church! There has been over 100 million Christians
martyred for the gospel since the early church was established by the apostles. We are knee or neck deep in“perilous times”

Here is where the good news comes in! In these perilous times, where would we be
without Christ and the gospel? Answer!We
would be on the side lines cheering and applauding the same young lady who
paraded herself last Sunday night as a thing, and not as a person created in
the image of God. We would be
no better or different than Miley Cyrus! Perilous time is why Christ came! To save
sinners like us, to die for the sin of this young girl, to take the punishment
of the mother who chose to terminate a life, for the
sexual immoral, the disobedient person, child, the church.That’s why
the gospel so precious and personal! But we need
to understand the church is under attack not just from the outside but also
from the inside. (v2-v4)

WHAT DOES A
PERILOUS TIME MEAN FOR US [THE BODY OF CHRIST]?

1. Get serious about your relationship
with Jesus Christ. In other
words, make Him the number one priority in your life.

2. Don’t bury your head in the sand
thinking that this will all go away sometime soon! Remove the
blinders, perilous times are here to stay and we must push on persevere through
them until the Lord`s return.

3. Walk by the Spirit and not by sight. God will make
it clear to you what He wants you to do but you must step out in faith and
actually start doing it.

4. Separate yourself and your family from
this present world system and all it has to offer you. Do not be
enslaved to the many enticements and distractions that are in the world today. Find
spiritual substitutes, for example, fill your mind with Christian teachings,
music, meditation on the word

5.Attend a Bible believing church
regularly [meaning
more than just Sunday’s] and get plugged in with other believers. As things
grow worse in this world this might mean that you will meet much more often
than you do now

6. Don't just believe or follow those with
their own radical agendas, use discernment and test all things to scripture. There are
many false teachers who will try to steer you away from the truth to the lies
of this world.

7. Redeem this time wisely for the Kingdom
of God. The apostle Paul said “redeeming
the time, because the days are evil.” Eph 5:16. He also said “Walk in wisdom toward those
who are outside, redeeming the time.” Col 4:5

There is an Illustration I came across that
speaks volumes to the human soul.“Spurgeon use
to tell a story about two men in a boat. They were caught in a very, very
severe rapids and they were going to a place where there was a waterfall and
even worse rapids and there was really no way, if they ever hit those rapids,
that they would ever live. And they began to struggle for their lives. And as
they were carried swiftly downstream, they were carried toward the perilous
rocks and the falls and some men on the shore saw them and tried to save the
two men and they threw a rope out. By this time the men had fallen out of the
little boat, were struggling in the current.

One man
caught the rope and was saved. At the same instant, said Spurgeon, the other
man who could have seized the rope, in the panic of the moment, grabbed onto a
log that was floating by and that was a fatal mistake. One man was drawn to the
shore because he had a connection with the people on the land. The other
clinging to a log was carried down through the rapids and never found again.

Now, you see,
what faith does is faith gives you a connection with the shore. Faith gives you
a connection to Jesus Christ. Grabbing a hold of anything else is grabbing a
log. It doesn't go anywhere but along with you to your doom.” Think of
these PERILOUS TIMES we live in as a raging sea. All around us the WINDS of
CHANGE are blowing. Off in the
distance we can hear the rumblings of an approaching STORM. How tempting
it is for you and me to take our eyes off JESUS and focus on all the bad things
going on around us. As one preacher said “But let me
remind you of a very important truth: The fact that the whole world seems out
of control just means the Lord has everything in CONTROL!” This is our culture! They are
clinging to that log and its guiding them to their doom.

Perilous time’s
calls for radical Christians, not spectators!

Perilous
time’s calls for gospel saturated living, not complacency!

Perilous
times call’s for selfless love for self-destructive people!

As Isaiah said “…..Woe is me, for I am
undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a
people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of
hosts."…Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I
send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." Isa 6:5-8. Despite
perilous times, may we go to the Miley Cyrus’s of this world with the gospel
that saves to the uttermost parts! Why? They are on a highway to Hell.

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"Radical obediance to Christ is not easy; it is dangerous. It is not smooth sailing aboard a luxury liner; it is sacrificial duty aboard a troop carrier. It's not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obediance to Christ risks losing all these things. But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ. and He is more than enough for us." David Platt

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Verse of the Week

2 Timothy 2:8-14"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us toa holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.Follow the pattern of the soundwords that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you."ESV

Listen Up! Pastor's

John MacArthur says . . . " There seems almost no limit to what modern church leaders will do to entice people who aren't interested in worship and preaching. Too many have bought the notion that the church must win people by offering an alternative form of entertainment. Just how far will the church go in competing with Hollywood? A large church in the southwestern United States has installed a half-million dollar special-effects system that can produce smoke, fire, sparks, and laser lights in the auditorium. The church sent staff members to study live special effects at Bally's Casino in Las Vegas. The pastor ended one service by ascending to "heaven" via invisible wires that drew him up out of sight while the choir and orchestra added a musical accompaniment to the smoke, fire, and light show. It was just a typical Sunday show for that pastor: "He packs his church with such special effects as ... cranking up a chain saw and toppling a tree to make a point ... the biggest Fourth of July fireworks display in town and a Christmas service with a rented elephant, kangaroo and zebra. The Christmas show features 100 clowns with gifts for the congregation's children."Shenanigans like that would have been the stuff of Spurgeon's worst nightmares. And even Tozer could not have foreseen the extreme to which evangelicals would go in paying homage to the great god Entertainment. "

What does it mean to live a cross centered life?by Pastor Mike AndrewsWe as Christians know that there is only one road to take. The Bible say's "wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it" (Matt 7:13). Why is there so many people who profess Jesus Christ taking this road? (Phil 3:19) "Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things". The Bible say's the wide road leads to destruction. Which means eternally separated from a HOLY and Sovereign GOD. There is ony one road for GENUINE Christian. And it's the narrow road. A life that is: 1) Self denial2) Caring your cross daily3) Desiring the things of God4) Hating the things that God hates5) Submission and obedience6) Holy living7) Expects any kind of persecution.(Mat 10:22) and you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved(1 John 3:13) Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.A.W. Tozer says "The true follower of Christ will not ask, "If I embrace this truth, what will it cost me?" Rather he will say, "This is truth. God help me to walk in it, let come what may!" (1Pet 4:16-17) Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?We must stand strong in the Gospel of Christ. Holding to His promise of eternal life.
1. A Cross Centered life never is ashamed of His Gospel, for which He suffers,
2. A Cross Centered Life is never ashamed of the name he bears (Christian)
3. Nor of the punishment he endures, but let US, as OUR Lord and Master did, endure the cross.

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." John Piper"Alan Redpathhad two daughters who loved to swarm him when he came home at night. As he came in the door one evening, his little girls ran to meet him. One grabbed his leg and hugged him with all her might. He snatched the other daughter up in his arms. The one squeezing his leg said, "Now, I've got all of Daddy." The daughter in his arms replied, "Yes, but Daddy has got all of me!" Perhaps the question we need to continually ask is, "Does God have all of me?" Alan Redpath

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Welcome Message

"Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE") Gal 3:13. That's why as the great puritan once said "I preach as a dying man,to dying men. Richard Baxter...."